Before Sarah Palin arrived on the scene, the original "momma grizzly" of the Republican party was former first lady Barbara Bush – husband to George senior and mother to George junior, or US presidents numbers 41 and 43 for those keeping score.

During Larry King's farewall tour of interviews, the CNN chat-master asked Barbara what she thought of Palin. Her response perhaps summed up that of the old school Republican party establishment:

"I sat next to her once, thought she was beautiful, and I think she's very happy in Alaska. And I hope she'll stay there."

As Salon's Steve Kornacki notes, this isn't the first time Barbara Bush has been less than sisterly about a female vice-presidential candidate:

Back in October 1984, when her husband was running for reelection as Reagan's vice-president, Bush referred to Geraldine Ferraro, Walter Mondale's running mate on the Democratic ticket, as "the four-million dollar – I can't say it, but it rhymes with 'witch'."

Palin cheerleader Glenn Beck responded on his radio programme today, calling Bush's comments about Palin's appearance "really insulting" and saying: "Really? Talk down to me Oatmeal Box lady." (A reference to the bewigged Quaker character on the Quaker Oats box.)